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AN APOSTLE OF GOOD WILL 



FOUNDER'S DAY ADDRESS 
ROBERT R. MOTON 

Principal of Tutketfee Institute 



AN APOSTLE OF GOOD WILL 



FOUNDER'S DAY ADDRESS 
ROBERT R. MOTON 

Principal of Tuskegee Institute 






PRESS OF THE HAMPTON NORMAL 
AND AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTE 
HAMPTON, VIRGINIA, I917 



D«^ of D.- 
APR 2? 1917 



AN APOSTLE OF GOOD WILL* 

BY ROBERT R. MOTON 

Principal of Tuskegee Institute 

IN this time of the world's great strife, when there is universal 
longing for peace, it is well for us here at beautiful, peaceful, 
restful Hampton Institute, because of the wisdom, patience, and 
sacrifice that have gone into establishing it, to think of its founder, 
who worked out here in concrete form the fundamental principle 
of universal and lasting peace, equally as applicable to nations as 
to races. 

The angel's song, " Peace on earth ; good will toward men," 
meant good will toward all men, not to our own race or our own 
nation only, not to people of our own social status merely ; it 
meant good will toward all humanity. 

General Armstrong was able always to recognize humanity 
amid ignorance and poverty, as well as beneath race and color 
lines. It did not matter whether he was with the Kanakas in the 
Hawaiian Islands, or with the choice youth of New England at 
Williams College ; as a captain of his company of Troy citizens, or 
in command of his Ninth Maryland Negro Troops at Gettysburg ; 
whether he was adjusting relations between former master and 
slave on the Virginia peninsula or teaching two— and perhaps 
three races— the dignity and beauty of labor, and the grandeur 
and glory of service. 

He had faith in all humanity, in the Negro, in the Indian, in 
the Southern white man. He believed in the ultimate triumph of 
right and justice and good will, in a wholesome and happy adjust- 
ment between races, and he was willing to work unfalteringly 
towards its accomplishment. It was this hopefulness, this zeal, 
with which he was able to thoroughly inspire those who were 
so fortunate as to come under his instruction and influence. 

Thus we have this great institution with all that has grown 
out of it, not only other institutions, but what is more beautiful, 
its educational ideals— the spirit of Hampton, and the spirit of the 
larger Hampton as well. / 

It is sometimes said that the Negro was placed in America 
and in the South by accident. That may be true. But I believe 
that the Divine Hand had as much to do with placing the Negro 

* Delivered at Hampton Institute, on Sunday, February 4, 1917 in celebration of Founder's 
Day 



in America and in the South as it had with placing the Jews in 
Egypt. The Negro's presence may have added something to the 
annoyance of his white brother. It has certainly added a great 
deal to his economic, and much, it may be, to his religious and 
spiritual development. 

Dr. Washington frequently expressed his pride in being a 
Negro. He was fond of telling what a wonderful chance he had 
to serve his race and through it the country. He was right. We 
Negroes of America have a wonderful chance, one almost to be 
envied, to help in shaping the lives, the destiny, not only of the 
Negroes of this land, but also those of Africa. 

■ The opportunity and the grave responsibility of the white 
man, however, in shaping the destiny of the Negro people, are 
almost as great and even more awful to contemplate, because our 
language, our customs, our conduct, are very largely shaped in ac- 
cordance with the standards of the race that surrounds us. What 
a wonderful chance God has given the white people, then, and 
especially those in the South, to set an example and to help, di- 
rectly and indirectly, in the training of these eight or nine mil- 
lions of people ! 

However much the white man may desire to shirk responsibil- 
ity as regards the Negro, he must, in his sober moods, feel that 
he is really and truly his brother's keeper. Our activities are so 
intimately interwoven that the life and conduct of one race can- 
not but have its influence upon the other ; and the stronger, more 
dominant race, must therefore have the stronger and more domi- 
nant influence, for good or evil. 

Few men saw as did General Armstrong how necessary it was 
that the two races should be satisfactorily adjusted to the new 
relationship which was bound to follow Emancipation. He said : 
' ' Hampton has blessed me in so many ways. Along with it have 
come the best people of this country for my friends and helpers ; 
and then such a grand chance to do something directly for those 
set free by war, and indirectly for those who were conquered.** 
His object was not merely to help the Negro, important as that 
was, but to help the nation, the North and the South, white and 
black. 

General Armstrong saw, as we today see and understand, 
that ignorance breeds disease, physical as well as moral. When 
the infection once starts, it does not stop in the alley or in the 
cabin of the Negro, but finds its way to the heights and to the 
mansions of the white man. He believed that the highest devel- 
opment of the Negro was very necessary to the highest develop- 
ment of the white man. 

The Negro is sometimes accused of being a cowardly race. 
The fact is cited that the Negro did not rise up during the war 



between the states and massacre the wives and children of the 
masters who were fighting for his continued enslavement. His 
accusers forget that the Negro always kept fresh and alive his 
faith in God. His religion was his beacon light. There are also 
hundreds of touching instances that reveal something of the lov- 
ing tenderness that existed between the slaves and their owners. 
I hold, and can hold, no brief for slavery ; and yet it cannot be 
denied that there was much of kindness existing during the period, 
now happily passed, that constrained the Negro slave to protect 
with his life those left in his care. 

It is my belief that kindness today, rather than cruelty, will 
bring about friendly cooperation between white man and black 
man, Teuton and Saxon, rich and poor, capital and labor— a coop- 
eration we all so much desire. 

Sad and humiliating as it truly is for the family, friends— yes, 
and race— of those who, charged with crime, are denied an orderly 
and impartial trial and unfortunately fall victims to the mob, it is 
much more unfortunate, in my judgment, for the mob, for their 
children and friends— yes, and their race also. The vicious reac- 
tion of hatred on the unfortunate possessor is far more to be 
dreaded than its results upon the humble creature who suffers 
from it. The white race should not, and will not much longer, I 
believe, allow such barbarous misrepresentations of our civiliza- 
tion. The world is coming more and more to the point where it 
will see that you cannot hate out, abuse out, shoot out, or lynch 
out human imperfections, real or imaginary. We are learning 
that any permanent eradication must come through patience, 
faith, kindness, and good will. 

In the final analysis, the great glory of America will not be 
tested by its wealth, its learning, its skill, its culture merely, nor 
yet by its efficiency, important as these are. The real test lies 
in the ability of average American citizens — those who make and 
who execute the laws, those who have taken to themselves the 
great responsibility of directing the affairs of government, those 
who have been so greatly blessed with wealth and culture and 
influence— if they love their country, to see that absolute and ex- 
act justice is done to every man, rich and poor, learned and un- 
learned; that justice is done to those who are different physically 
from themselves; that black men and women are given a fair 
and equal chance for training and for education, a chance to live 
in pleasant and wholesome surroundings, are guaranteed life and 
liberty; that Negroes are taught to respect the courts of this 
country and not to feel, as the average Negro too often feels, that 
the court is a place for punishment only, rather than a place for 
justice. 

Democracy and Christianity are being tested and tried as by 



fire, but I firmly believe that democracy, that Christianity, that 
America, will stand this test. After all the misunderstandings and 
friction, after all the bitterness and hatred, the sober thought of 
the educated. Christian white man of the South, as well as that of 
the educated Christian Negro, has come to the verge of a period 
when good will, and peace with honor and justice to all concerned, 
and mutual understanding, seem more possible than ever. While 
there are still prejudices and hatred on the part of some Negroes 
and white men in the South, it is well to keep in mind the fact 
that the Negroes of the South are not all lazy and criminals, and 
that all the white men of the South are not Negro haters and 
lynchers. Such incidents as the following have been happening 
ever since the war between the states, but they don't always 
find their way into public print. 

A Negro was under indictment for murder. When the case 
was called in the superior court, it is said that General Toombs 
arose and said : " Mr. Clerk, mark my name as counsel for the 
defendant. " The State's witnesses made a plausible case against 
the accused. At last the time for the defense arrived. General 
Toombs began : ' ' May it please the court and you gentlemen 
of the jury. At the battle of Gettysburg, when General Pickett's 
charge had been repulsed, a Confederate colonel, severely wounded, 
was left on the field. The Federals were raking the ground with 
their batteries and no soldier dared to rescue his leader. At that 
moment a black form was seen to move forward through the 
Confederate lines, and, in spite of the lead and iron hail, he 
rushed to the wounded officer. He took him in his arms tenderly 
and carried him back to safety. That colonel was my brother. 
A hero who could do that at Gettysburg cannot be a murderer 
today. Stand up, Tom, and open your shirt. " The Negro did 
as directed, showing the scar of the wound received in his he- 
roic devotion. General Toombs left the case with the Southern 
white men of that jury who immediately returned a verdict of not 
guilty. 

Many other stories could be recounted showing the continu- 
ance and growth of mutual consideration between the races. We 
have not yet forgotten San Juan Hill, while the heroism of the 
black and white troopers during the Carrizal tragedy is still fresh 
in our minds. Colonel Henry Watterson, in the Louisville 
Courier-Journal, thus describes that fateful event : — 

"The black man fought in the deadly shambles side by side 
with the white man, following always, fighting always as his 
lieutenant fought. 

' 'And, finally, when Adair, literally shot to pieces, fell in his 
tracks, his last command to his black trooper was to leave him 
and save own his life. Even then the heroic Negro paused in the 
midst of that hell of carnage for a final service to his officer. 



Bearing a charmed life, he fought his way out. He saw that 
Adair had fallen with his head in the water. With superb loyalty 
theblacktrooper turned and went back into the maelstrom of 
death lifted the head of his superior, leaned him against a tree 
and left him there, dead with dignity, when it was impossible to 
serve any more. 

"There is not a finer piece of soldierly devotion and heroic 
comradeship m the history of modern warfare, " said Colonel 
Watterson, ' than that of Henry Adair and the black trooper 
who fought by him at Carrizal. 

"The historian of that brief but bloody drama has rescued 
the name of Henry Adair and written it high in the annals of 
American heroism where it will live with illustrious heroes of his 
race. 

"I think the name of the black trooper should be rescued 
trom obscurity and written side by side with that of his oflicer. 
If Henry Adair had survived this modern Alamo, he would have 
seen to it that this Negro was bracketed with him in the heroic 
annals of the affray. 

"As Henry Adair did not live to do it, we should see that this 
justice IS done. As the son of a Confederate officer who fought 
to the end of the Civil War, as a publicist who has studied the 
race question, and once, in serious honesty, preached the doctrine 
of separation of the races, I ask that from the records of that 
last fatal charge at Carrizal there should be recovered the name 
of that black soldier whose heroic loyalty to this white comrade 
touches the high-water mark of soldierly devotion and deathless 
courage, linking the two races that henceforth must live together 
and fight together to the end of time." 

I am glad to say that the name of that colored trooper has 
been "rescued from obscurity." It is Peter Bigstaff. 

The two incidents just cited give evidence that the spirit of 
kindness between white men and black men, which we are accus- 
tomed to think of as existing mainly before and during the war, 
is just as genuine and true today as it was then. All it needs is 
a chance for manifestation. There are Negroes everywhere as 
true to the white race as they are to themselves ; and there are 
white men who are just as true and loyal to the Negro race. 
The sons and daughters of those honored and revered black 
"mammies" and "Uncle Toms" have not all degenerated into 
disloyal, ungrateful criminals; neither have the children of such 
men as General Toombs and Colonel Henry Watterson changed so 
soon to hating and encouraging racial bitterness and strife. 
Hampton Institute, through the wisdom and foresight of its Foun- 
der, General Samuel C. Armstrong, and by the patient, sagacious, 
unselfish leadership of its present Principal, Dr. Hollis B. Frissell, 
is more than any other single agency in our country making it pos- 
sible for these two elements of white and black— the two largest 
and most effective— to show, without embarrassment to either,that 
the two races can live together peacefully, helpfully, honorably, 



and harmoniously here in the South, each making its own con- 
tribution to the glory of our country. 

I venture to mention here a few of the tangible results 
which Hampton has led in bringing about. As a general result 
of Hampton's years of teaching, racial good will in the South is 
more widespread than ever before. 

The demand for Negro labor in the North and the migration 
of Negroes from the South to meet that demand are crystallizing 
sentiment looking toward justice and fairness for the black man 
as perhaps no other incident ever has. General Armstrong, 
through Hampton Institute, blazed the way and set in motion 
elements that are today meeting this situation in a practical, 
Christ-like way, making it easier for white men, as well as black 
men, to speak out from press and platform in a way that would 
have been well-nigh impossible without his work and influence. 

Let me mention a few of the indirect results — what Dr. 
Wallace Buttrick once called the " lateral influences of Hampton 
Institute." I do not believe I am overstating the case when 
I say that General Armstrong's life and work, through Hampton 
Institute and its outgrowths, have done more than any other 
single influence to make possible some of the most progressive 
and effective movements for educational, social, and moral reforms 
that are helping society in this country today, especially in the 
South. What does it matter that they are reaching their fruition 
twenty-five years after General Armstrong's passing, or through 
Dr. Frissell at Hampton or Dr. Washington at Tuskegee? 

Among these "lateral influences " is the Southern Education 
Board, with all its marvelous work of inspiring, energizing, and 
actualizing definite enthusiasms for education in the South for all 
the people, resulting in additional appropriations of millions of 
dollars for school purposes. Moreover, what is even more signifi- 
cant is the sentiment which that Board set in motion for universal 
education, a sentiment likely to increase rather than decrease in 
its momentum. 

The General Education Board, which can be traced more 
or less directly to Hampton's influence through the Southern 
Education Board and Mr. Ogden's parties — "adventures into 
ennobling experiences" — is another of these "lateral influences." 
It is most fitting that a suitable monument to him, in the form of 
an Auditorium, should be placed here at Hampton. Think, too, 
of the wonderful work and influence of the General Education 
Board! That board has had and is still having an invaluable in- 
fluence on education for the entire country, standardizing schools, 
and quietly but very effectively helping and influencing, not only 
educational thought, but also a great many other very important 
movements for human betterment. 



The Jeanes Board also belongs among Hampton's "lateral 
influences." With its limited funds, it is influencing education in 
the South, through Dr. James Hardy Dillard, not only among 
Negroes, but among the whites also, in a way whose importance 
it would be difficult to overestimate. 

Then there is the Southern University Commission on Race 
Questions, representing through certain of their professors all of 
the Southern state universities, in which Southern men of the 
highest and most intellectual character are willing to study at 
first hand the condition of the black man, and to use the results 
of their studies in deepening the faith and inspiring the youth of 
the South with a desire to help and to be just and fair in their 
dealings with the black man. 

We do not need to mention Booker Washington, who was 
General Armstrong's most distinguished pupil, and the remarkable 
influence he had and is still having on the thought and feelings 
of the South toward the Negro. Think also of what a wonderful 
work he did in spreading ideas of vocational, practical education 
throughout the length and breadth of this land ! Think, too, of 
what other students of Hampton, in an humbler but no less 
effective way, have accomplished ! 

All of these activities, and more, can be credited in part, if 
not entirely, to the life and work and character and spirit of the 
Founder of Hampton Institute. In this glorious life we have the 
foundation, and the only foundation, upon which races and 
nations can have real peace— the spirit of good will toward men, 
black even as white, North and South. Good will, it is, that the 
nations of the earth are needing. It is that peace for which so 
many unnumbered millions of suffering and innocent human 
beings are yearning. 

The idea which was crudely expressed by a Carnegie hero 
student now at Tuskegee Institute who, at the risk of his own 
life, saved the life of a little white girl in Waco, Texas, from an 
onrushing automobile, is the idea which will bind races and 
nations together in peace and good will. When asked whether 
he would have preferred to save a black child rather than a white 
child, he replied: ''You don't stop to think, when an innocent 
human life is at stake, whether you are helping a white person 
or a black person. All you know is that it is a human being." 

It is that spirit which General Armstrong and Dr. Frissell, 
through Hampton Institute, have taught throughout all of these 
years to black man and white man in the North and in the South. 
It is only through that spirit which is blind tC color and to race and 
to nationality when human lives, either physical, mental, or moraL 
are at stake,— it is only in that spirit that we can conquer racial 
misunderstanding and strife. It is only in the spirit of Christian 
service that we can have lasting, universal peace. It is this 
spirit which General Armstrong so aptly epitomized in this closing 
sentence of his famous Memoranda— " It pays to follow one's best 
light, to put God and country first, ourselves afterwards." 



